Home care for ventilator-dependent children. Psychosocial impact on the family
R. D. Quint, E. Chesterman, L. S. Crain, M. Winkleby and W. T. Boyce
Division of General Pediatrics, University of California Medical Center, San Francisco.
The impact of providing home care for ventilator-dependent children was
studied in a cross-sectional survey of 18 northern California families.
Through the use of a confidential structured interview and the impact on
Family Scale, we obtained information on family demographics; the
childrens' medical conditions; financial, social, and personal impact on
the family; and parental coping-mastery of the care of a
ventilator-dependent child at home. Analysis of scores from the impact on
Family Scale showed no differences in the perceived family impact between
primary caretakers and their spouses. Primary caretakers in the sample,
however, showed significantly reduced Coping subscale scores with a longer
duration of home ventilatory care. This finding, if confirmed in future
studies, has policy implications for physicians and other health
professionals working with ventilator-dependent children and their
families, especially those who care for children over long periods.
